Police arrest two suspects with N180k fake new naira notes in Enugu

The Enugu police command says its operatives arrested two suspects with fake redesigned notes in Ibagwa-Aka community of Igbo-Eze LGA of the state.

Daniel Ndukwe, the command’s spokesperson, announced the development in a statement on Friday.

Ndukwe said the suspects, Joseph Chinenye and Onyeka Kenneth Ezeja were caught at a filling station with fake redesigned N1000 in 180 pieces “where they used the notes to purchase petrol”.

“Acting on credible information, police operatives serving in Igbo-Eze South Division of Enugu state command, on 02/02/2023 at about 9.05 pm, arrested one Joseph Chinenye aged 39 and Onyeka Kenneth Ezeja aged 29, both male and respectively of Iheakpu-Awka in Igbo-Eze south LGA and Onicha Enugu-Ezike in Igbo-Eze north LGA,” the statement reads. 

“They were in possession of suspected counterfeit one hundred and eighty (180) pieces of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) newly redesigned one thousand naira (N1,000) notes, with face value of one hundred and eighty thousand naira (N180,000.00).

“Preliminary investigation shows, among other things, that the notes, which are in three separate batches, bear the same serial numbers of A/34:282656, A/46:578759, and 8/93:852942; while the suspects claimed to have secured the counterfeited naira notes from an unidentified woman in Benin, Edo state. 

“In addition, they confessed to having attempted to sell the notes to a point-of-sale (POS) operator, who rejected them, before the operatives arrested them at a filling station in Ibagwa-Aka community of Igbo-Eze LGA, where they used the notes to purchase petrol.

“The duo will be arraigned in court upon consolidation and conclusion of the investigation into the case by the state criminal investigation department (CID) Enugu.”

Ahmed Ammani, commissioner of police, reassured the commitment of the police to fish out and bring to book, criminal elements hellbent on perpetrating such acts of economic sabotage.

Ammani also urged the public to support the police in its quest, while being vigilant and wary of who or how they obtain and carry out transactions with naira notes, especially the new ones.